Random Things
by emopicklegirlONISIONlover
Summary: I don't know how to explain this, so read it. Please.


Let me get you straight on something. I am not in love with my best friend. Well, I kind of am. But it's complicated.

Before I start telling you my whole story, I'll tell you how Ian and I met.

* * * *

I was walking-running, actually-in the woods around my temporary home–which is my own business, thank you very much- and I wasn't paying attention to the smells around me and was consequently surprised. I was ambushed by two vampires- why, I still don't know to this day. I fought hard, and I was more than a match for one of them. But the other one- a stronger male- caught me when I was turning to finish him off. He was about to deal the final blow to my head when he was knocked over by an unseen force. Well, unseen by me. I was in the process of scrambling away when I felt a large wet nose snuffling along my arm.

I screamed when I felt more noses poking along my other arm and my leg. I wasn't sure where they all came from, but at the same time I was glad someone or something was there to keep me company before I died. I wanted so desperately to die then that something must've snapped in my brain because I started talking to the animal things.

"You don't know how glad I am to have you here. I don't know what you're doing, though, but don't try moving me anywhere."

The noses disappeared and I heard steps moving away. Soon I heard human footsteps, and felt myself being lifted up, surprisingly gentle. I was scared that he/she was taking me somewhere where I wouldn't be able to contact anybody that I knew. I felt like I was a rag doll, limp and bouncing around in his/her arms.

Then I could tell that we were going over smoother land, because his/her stride was smoother and longer. He shouted something to someone; I couldn't make out what he said because my consciousness was fading away. No, not my consciousness. My soul was being sucked away, toward a black void from which I would never return. I wasn't afraid of the void; rather, I welcomed it. I would finally be able to escape the monotony of life, the hardship of everything. I would finally be able to rest. The last thing that I remember before the darkness swallowed up the rest of my vision was that I was grateful that the stranger tried to save me.

* * * *

"Oh. My. Gosh." I said.

"What? Is something wrong? Are you all right?" Ian asked.

I rolled my eyes at his overly protective tone.

"Your dorm house is way cooler than mine is."

"What? No way. I can't believe that. Oh, wait. I can. Vampires are so boring."

His statement was true. The vampire dorm house was so….blah, compared to the werewolf dorm. Our dorm was-is-dull, and drab, and pale. The werewolf dorm is so much the opposite that the bright colors almost blinded me.

I was really nervous about this. It was my first time in the werewolf dorm in the two years since Ian saved me, and I wasn't sure how they would react.

"All right. Here we are. My room. Now, I have to warn you that my room is not exactly the cleanest, nor is my roommate the most polite person you'll meet here. That being said, are you ready?"

"Of course I am. Don't be such a fool. I've most likely dealt with ruder people than whoever is in that room right now."

I barged in the room after Ian and was shocked at how clean the room was. I couldn't believe that Ian had lied to me on purpose. And it wasn't even partly true. Even his garbage can was sparkling.

His roommate was even polite, so that one wasn't true either. Actually, his roommate was more than polite. He was charming. When I had finished inspecting the room, he came over, bowed, took my hand, and kissed it, all while balancing a full-to-the-brim cup of hot coffee. I reverted back to my old self for a moment, and curtsied back. When I came back to modern day, I saw Ian looking at me like I was an alien from a strange planet. I just shook my head at him, not wanting to explain.

"My name is Thomas Richard Imanre, but you may call me Tom." Tom said.

"My name is Svetlana. You may call me Svet." I said.

Normally I wouldn't tell someone that I just met my name. Most of my friends don't even call me Svetlana, not since my childhood. Everyone called me Willow, my invented name for myself. I had absolutely no idea why I had told him my real name. As I tried to gather my wild thoughts, Ian stepped up and covered for me.

"You can call her Willow. She must be shocked because of our room. Let me get her something to drink." Ian said.

He went- I presume- to the werewolf cafeteria to get my said drink. Tom invited me to sit down and talk, but I politely refused and left the room. I knew that Ian would know where to find me.

* * * *

I'm not actually who you think I am. Well, maybe I am. But I have some stuff that I want to clear up. You may be asking what I was doing before the ambush. I know, I know, I said that it was my own business, but I've had a change of heart.

What I meant by temporary home was that I wasn't going to live there forever. I was looking for someone, and I had already searched the whole town for him. All I had left to search was the school thing that was somewhat nearby. If he wasn't there, then I would leave. Actually, no matter what I would leave. I was busy thinking about where I would look next and wasn't paying attention to the smells around me, as I mentioned before. Plus, I hadn't been getting enough sleep in the past few days, so that was a huge factor.

See, sleep for vampires in even more important than blood is. In fact, if we get enough sleep, we only really need to drink blood every six months or so. Anyways, back to what I was doing.

I was concentrating more on actually getting to the school thing then seeing if I was in trouble. And then I was ambushed, Ian saved me, along with some friends, as I later learned. We quickly grew to be friends. I was actually just looking for a way to repay him, but I kept putting the date when I would leave later and later until we are to the point where I was going to see Ian's room. I think that that should do it for now.

* * * *

I was taking deep breaths in my room when there was soft knocking on my door. I knew that it was Ian.

"Come in."

"Hey. What happened back there? Your eyes got all glazed, like you were sick or something." He wasn't unkind in inquiring.

"I just kind of reverted back to my old self for a minute, I guess. But I'm all right now. Is Tom offended? I hope I didn't make the wrong impression." I fretted.

"Oh, don't worry about Tom. He doesn't get easily offended. He's a toughie."

"Oh, all right. If you say so."

"Wait. What do you mean, 'reverted back to my old self'?"

"Nothing, nothing. Oh, look. It's a bunny. Wave to the bunny, Ian."

Normally, that trick would work because Ian loves rabbits. But this time he wouldn't fall for it. He wanted to know what I meant. Sometimes, that boy is so stubborn that I can't even tell you.

"Tell me what you meant." Ian insisted.

I quickly mumbled something.

"What?"

I mumbled a little louder.

"You're not being fair. I took you to meet my roommate. The least you could do is tell me why you said that."

"No way. Forget it. I'm not telling you why I acted the way I did. Can't you ask for something else?"

"Fine. If you won't tell me, then you have to pretend to be my girlfriend for a week, starting today."

That boy sure knows me well. Ian knows exactly the right thing to say to get me to break down.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you. Close the door so we won't be overheard."

Way too eager, Ian closed the door and helped himself to a soda from my mini-refrigerator before settling down on my bed.

"At least try not to be too eager or else I'll start freaking out. Goodness."

"Sorry." Ian toned down the excitement a little.

"That's better. I meant when I said that I 'reverted back to my old self' was that I just reverted back to my old self. I mean, I'm way older than you think. Back when I was young, curtsying was the thing to do if a man kissed a lady's hand, or tipped his hat to her on the street. I was just remembering the last time I did that."

"When was the last time you did that before today?"

"I already answered your first question and told you more than I wanted to about my past. So there, Ian."

Ian made a pouty face.

"That's not going to work on me, Ian."

He looked at me, his eyes big.

"Come on, Ian. I'll get you a hot chocolate if you stop looking at me like that."

"No."

"A hot chocolate with whipped cream."

"No."

"Extra whipped cream with chocolate chips on top."

"Fine." he said grudgingly, "But don't think that I won't remember that you bribed me."

"Just as long as you don't try to find out more about my past. Because I will kill you if you ask someone else if they know anything. I mean it."

Ian's smile faltered just a bit when he heard my threat.

Three more years went by without my leaving the school. Now, when I say school, I mean that it was actually a school at one point. It was actually a college. That's why we have separate dorm houses. Now, there's some reasons why the adults in charge of the school didn't just put the vampires and the werewolves together in one dorm.

1. People would be suspicious, since it's supposed to be a college, if only one dorm was used.

2. You think I would stay there five years if I had to live in the same building with Ian?

3. Vampires and werewolves don't always get along as well as Ian and I do. In fact, Ian and I don't get along that well either, and we're best friends.

4. The smell would be horrible (the werewolves, not the vampires).

5. Werewolves are party animals. Us vampires would be very cranky, 'specially since we aren't anywhere near a national park with a population problem. Either that or we would die.

6. It's hard enough living with all these vampires, let alone a bunch of party animals.

I was really glad that we don't have to share the dorm with the werewolves. It's hard enough for me being in the same building with the male vampires. I shudder at the thought of the guy werewolves. I know from the times I visited Ian that the guy werewolves who don't have girlfriends hang out outside the rooms of the girls they liked until the girls gave in and went out with them. But it always turned out all right because the girls always liked them back.

I was also glad that the vampire guys hadn't adopted the werewolves' method of waiting outside rooms, because there would be a lot of people outside my room. I had enough trouble with rumors going around of me going out with various people in my dorm. I always broke the cycle when I heard the newest rumor from Annie, a vampire girl friend of mine.

I felt bad for my dorm mates, because vampires are mainly loners, traveling by themselves, or with their mates, if they have one. It's getting harder to find our soul mates because of the vampire hunters out and about. I curse Bram Stoker at least once a day. If it wasn't for him and his stupid book about Prince Vlad Dracula of Wallachia, then we vampires could still be living among humans undetected. That always brings me back to the memories of my old life, before I was a vampire and after I had been changed. I was shocked at how many vampires were quietly living around me.

I would always come to from my reminiscing with a jolt because of my roommate. She would always tell me that I looked like I was having a heart attack. So I try to curse him when I'm alone in my room.

It irked me that I would have to pay for Ian's extra-large hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and chocolate chips; I always ended up losing out bets somehow, even when I knew I was right, and I somehow came to have to pay for our food when we went out with our friends on the weekends. I kept going to him to ask him to pay me back, but somehow we ended up talking about something completely different.

I ended up forfeiting the argument, or whatever, and I just kept paying for everything. My reason was that Ian had saved my life. I owed it to him. And then I realized: This is my way of repaying Ian! I would finally be able to leave and keep up my search! I made a plan to leave after the full moon, which was the next night. I never was able to sleep during the full moon, and neither could the werewolves. So we came up with a little plan thing: we would all go to the vampire's heated pool and hang out with each other all night long until the sunrise. Then we would go back to our dorms, shower, and go about our own things during the day. Strangely, we weren't at all tired during the day. It was as if we had gotten a full night's sleep. I never questioned it; it had happened even when I was young, when I was a mortal.

I vowed to make that night the best full moon that Ian had had since I arrived.

I was startled out of my sleep when someone was furiously pounding on the door of my shared room.

"What do you want?" I mumbled through the closed the door.

"We need you in the main building ASAP. There's a guy who just came through the doors who looks like he could drop at any minute and he keeps saying that he's looking for Svetlana."

In an instant I was wide awake.

"Is he all right? Has he told you his name? Has he told you how he was attacked, if he was attacked? How bad are his injuries?" I rattled off the questions as I got dressed and brushed my teeth.

"He's just plain exhausted. He could pass out at any minute, and he really wants to see you. He hasn't told us his name or anything. His injuries are minimal. Just a few bruises, that's all."

"All right. Let's go see this guy."

I opened the door and followed Annie down to the main building. The man was laid out on a couch, where people were fluttering to and fro getting cold wet cloths for his head. I searched his face, trying to see if I recognized him, if his features were ones that I knew. Suddenly his name flew into my head. I went to his side, to see if he was awake, to see if he remembered me. His eyes were fluttering.

"Go to sleep. Ask where to find me when you wake up." I whispered.

His eyes fluttered one last time, and he sighed as sleep took him in its embrace.

"Put him in my room, if you can. He'll be better after he gets some sleep. I'll be in the cafeteria in the vamp dorm if you need me." I told Annie.

"All right. Thanks for helping us. Kind of."

"Yeah, okay."

I walked slowly back to the vamp part of the campus. I couldn't believe that someone from my past had actually found out where I was. And the person that I had been looking for, to boot. I was still mulling over the coincidence when Ian strolled over.

"What's happening?"

"Nothing, really. I guess. Whatever. I'm fine. Uh, what's happening with you?" Even I could tell that that was pathetic.

"Oh, come on. That was pathetic. Aren't you excited for tonight? I have a feeling that it's going to be the best one ever."

"Hey, will you ask everyone if it's all right if my dorm comes over too? We have more than enough space in the pool to hold everyone, plus people will hopefully get to know each other more."

"I'm sure that it's all right."

"No, no. Go ask your people. I don't want a repeat of last Christmas."

"That would be bad." Ian agreed.

Last Christmas, I celebrated at the werewolf dorm. I had made loads of gingerbread cookies. I was eating one when Josh got mad at me.

"No, no, no, no! That's the wrong way to eat them. You have to eat them starting at their heads, not their arm."

I was totally acting out my natural teenage instincts that day because I'm not usually that cranky.

"Don't tell me how to eat my gingerbread cookie. I can eat it however I want to."

"And I can tell you how to do stuff. Freedom of speech, remember?"

"That doesn't mean I have to do what you say all the time." I pushed Josh's shoulder.

"Oh, no you didn't." Josh pushed me back.

"You want to take this outside?" I yelled.

"Heck yeah!"

As we went outside, I took off my boots and my coat.

"Let's do this thing."

We circled around each other like wolves, each looking for an opening. I lunged, finally starting the fight. It was the unspoken rule that if a female was in a fight, then she would be the first to start it. Unfortunately - or fortunately, it depends on how you look at it - a police car was parked in front of the main building, where they had a good view of the fight.

The police department were the only ones who knew in the town what this old school was (it's a place for werewolves and vampires who don't have anywhere else to go can go). The police ended up giving me a sedative so I wouldn't hurt anyone else for a while.

Ian and I both shivered at the thought. Vampires are lethal to werewolves. One bite has enough venom in it to kill at least 30 people. Josh's face is permanently scarred. It was lucky that the police were there; else I would have killed Josh. I still feel bad whenever I see him.

I brought my sleeping bag out to the pool that night, along with my pillow and some snacks. I always brought snacks. It only seemed right that I would bring all of Ian's favorites. After all, I would be leaving sometime tomorrow or tomorrow night, when Ian wasn't here. It would be better if he thought I had run away. It would be better if everyone thought that. I would have to leave quickly if I wanted to make it to the nearby forest by the time Ian came back from his shopping in the town.

I brought out my sleeping bag and my pillow because I didn't want to sit on the cold cement, and that guy might come out and fall asleep here. I wouldn't want him to catch a cold. I would hate for him to come all this way and then catch a stupid cold.

Sunset came, and it was beautiful. I watched it for the last time with my friends, feeling sorrowful. When the moon came up, I gazed at it for a few moments, then threw my head back and howled. All my sadness, joy, all my emotions went into that song, making it just as haunting as a real wolf's. After a few moments of listening, one by one my friends joined in, creating an indescribable song. I could hear the real wolves in the forest joining in. It made me feel so alive to howl at the moon, so ancient, that I loved it.

When we finished, there was a moment of silence. Then I let out a great whoop and dived into the pool. I felt so different after that, like a new person. When I emerged from the water, people were staring at me weirdly.

"What you lookin' at?"

"Dude, you're like all different colors and junk." Josh said.

"What? You're joshing." I smiled.

"No, look at yourself."

Shaking my head, I went over to the vending machine and looked at my reflection in the shiny glass. I couldn't tell if he was right or not; it was too dark already. I turned when I heard Annie gasp. She was covering herself up, as were other girls who had been in the pool, because of something.

"My skin reacts weirdly with chlorine, that's all." I said. "What's wrong, Annie?"

"There was a guy looking at us over there."

"A guy? Everyone from the dorms is here, and the adults don't use this pool."

"It doesn't matter now. I think we scared him off." Annie was relieved.

Then I realized who it must've been. Annie realized too and looked at me, her eyes big.

"I'll be right back, guys." I ran through the gate and into the surrounding darkness.

"Hello? Are you there?" I called softly, feeling a little like a fool; I couldn't see anything, so I didn't know if he was here still or farther away.

I suddenly felt warm velvet encasing my shivering shoulders.

"Yes. I am here. You called?"

His voice was a relief to hear again after so long. Vlad nuzzled my neck as I spoke.

"Vlad. I couldn't believe it when I saw you on the couch in the main building. I thought that it was too good to be true."

"Of course it's true. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

"I've had many a dream where you came here. Every morning I was disappointed when I woke up that you weren't there."

"I can believe that. I've had the same exact dream about you."

I turned around abruptly and wrapped my arms around Vlad's waist. He stroked my hair slowly, and we stood like that for a while. We broke apart when I moved toward the pool when I heard Annie calling for me.

"Willow, are you still out there?"

"Don't go." Vlad pleaded. "I finally got you back."

"You can come too. I'm sure they won't mind."

"Willow?"

"Wait. Answer something for me first."

"Anything for you."

"Why do they call you Willow?"

"Svetlana reminded me too much of the old days."

"Ah. But will you change it back now?"

"I believe that I will."

"Willow!"

"Come. I don't want to worry them anymore."

I caught Vlad's hand and led him towards the ghostly light of the submerged pool lights. Everyone's eyes widened as they took in Vlad's seven-foot-tall, cape-wrapped svelte frame. He had shoulder-length silver hair that framed his face nicely. If I met him in a dark alley, I would be frightened for my life. But fortunately, I didn't have to meet him in a dark alley.

I searched each face carefully, to see their reaction. I guess something was triggered in Ian's brain, because he was suddenly snarling like a wild animal. That got the other werewolves riled up and suddenly everyone was either snarling or hissing, just like that.

"Ian, stop! Vlad, no!" I cried.

I expected Vlad to stop, but I hadn't expected Ian to stop just because I told him to. Nor had I expected the rest of the werewolf dorm to stop, either. Brushing off the weird incident, I concentrated on introducing Vlad.

"Everybody, this is Vlad. Vlad, this is everybody." As I said their names, Vlad nodded to them.

They wasted no time after the introductions to start asking questions. I was shocked at how rude some of them were.

"Are you two going out? I mean, there seems like there's something between you two." Annie asked.

That was the question that unsettled me. Did Vlad still love me after all these years?

"If you are asking if I am going to be courting any of you, then no. I already have found my soul mate." Vlad stated calmly. He squeezed my hand as he said it.

"Where were you all these years that Willow-I mean, Svetlana-was here?" Ian asked.

"I was looking for her. Is that all the questions that you have? Good. Come, Svetlana. Let's go. It's almost sunrise."

I didn't have a chance to get my stuff before Vlad pulled me out of the pool area. It wasn't even anywhere near sunrise.

"Why do I have to leave now?" I felt like a child who hadn't gotten the ice cream she really wanted.

"I have a bad feeling about that Ian. Let's just leave it at that." Vlad continued to pull me in the direction of my dorm.

I decided to change the subject.

"How can you see so well? And how do you know where my dorm is?"

"I've had to see in the dark for a few years. You would still be able to see in the dark as well as I do if you hadn't relied on electricity. And I asked around to see where you live."

"Oh."

We walked for a little while longer in silence until I saw the softly glowing front hall lights of my dorm house. As soon as I got up to my darkened room, I grabbed my towel and my pajamas, and told Vlad to make himself comfortable while I took a shower. When I emerged from the steamy bathroom, Vlad was fast asleep on my bed. I smiled to myself at his untroubled expression and got out the spare blanket that I keep in my dresser and fell asleep leaning against the bed frame.

That was the first time I slept through part of the full moon.

I awoke feeling much warmer than I should have. It was because Vlad had draped his cape over me sometime while I was sleeping. He wasn't on my bed, which was made a lot neater than when before Vlad was on it. Figuring he must've gone to breakfast already, I decided to get dressed and meet him there. I took out my Gothic dress that I put on whenever I feel bad or cranky and put on Vlad's cape over it. People walking around campus smiled when they saw me coming.

A gust of air blew the cape out while I was going into the cafeteria. Bunches of people started whispering to each other as I strode toward the table where I saw Vlad sitting with two full trays of food.

"Goodness, you must be hungry." I said as I sat down with a smile.

"Very funny. Actually, one of these is for you. By the way, where did you get that dress? You look stunning in it."

"I got it a couple years ago in a Halloween store. I can go there and get you one too if you like it so much."

"Ah, I've missed you, Svetlana."

I took his hand in mine.

"I've missed you too, Vlad, more than you can ever know."

"Are you going to eat that?"

Ian slid a tray over in front of himself and started eating an apple.

"Yeah, I'm gonna eat that. Shove off, Ian."

I shoved him off the end of the table. I smiled at Vlad as I heard Ian cursing, trying to get off the slippery floor. When he finally did, I leaned close to him.

"Don't ruin this for me." I said through clenched teeth. "I hope you have a good time shopping," I added in a forced cheerful tone, so Vlad could hear.

As Ian walked away, I turned back to Vlad.

"Where were we?"

"I still can't get over that I actually found you, so I'll forgive you this time."

"I so don't deserve you, Vlad."

"No, you don't. You deserve better."

This was an old argument that we had even when we were first seeing each other. I knew what we could do this all day, so I admitted that I indeed did not deserve him. I told him what I had been planning as we went back to my room. I offered to give him back his cape, but he refused. He said he wasn't cold.

Guys areso weird, like Vlad has to prove to me that he's tough,I thought.

"So why exactly do we want to leave?"

"It seems like I've spent enough time here. Besides, I have a feeling that something's going to happen."

Before I could move to put down Vlad's cape on my bed, I felt my arms growing heavy and still, like a stone statue. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't even move my eyes. I guess it happened to Vlad, too, because his hand never moved from my waist. I wondered if we would stay like this forever, a statue of a couple, frozen for eternity for everyone to see. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the door open.

"Nobody ever leaves here willingly unless they commit suicide. Unfortunately for you, you won't have that option. No, you'll have to suffer through part of your life all over again, only with a twist. See you maybe. If you get out alive."

I felt a prick in my arm, and the next thing I knew, darkness was swallowing up my vision. Again.

* * * *

The rattling noise was hurting my head. Squinting carefully, so as not to hurt my eyes, I dimly made out the shapes of people. As my eyes focused more, I saw that I was in a wagon of some sort.

"Ah, you're finally awake. You had us worried. We thought that the vampire had you for sure."

That didn't make any sense to me.

"What? Who are you talking about? And where am I?"

"The vampire had you by the throat and was about to drink your blood. You were already unconscious."

"He did not have me by the throat. Let me out when we stop next." I demanded.

"Whatever you say, dearie." The woman said.

Somehow, the men in the wagon that was holding Vlad had gotten out before our wagon had even stopped, and they were behind us. They had bound Vlad's arms with silver chains. I knew they meant to do something to him, because nobody knew enough about vampires to know we're allergic to silver. Vlad was spitting and cursing at the men, who were, by throwing rocks at him, driving him toward the deepest part of the stream we apparently were driving alongside. Vlad was wearing some kind of armor, so he would surely sink. I couldn't see if it was metal or anything because Vlad had disappeared over the bank of the stream.

I grabbed a spear that was leaning against the side of the wagon and jumped in. I could see Vlad's hair floating around his face as he struggled to get out of his bonds. I motioned frantically for him to stop struggling so I could help him. Working quickly, I broke the lock with the spearhead and helped to drag the chains off his arms, not minding the cuts that I received from the silver, though I was careful to not let the silver touch his skin. A sudden wave of pain caught me mid-stroke while I was heading to the surface, causing me to double over in the water. As though sensing I was in pain, Vlad turned back for me and, gripping my arm with one hand and my waist with the other, helped me to the surface.

I curled up on the bank a ways away from where Vlad had been herded and from where I had jumped in, wave after wave of pain moving through my body. It felt like my head was going to explode. Finally, after what felt like hours, the pain stopped and I was able to sit up.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I'm so terribly sorry."

"Why are you the sorry one?" I panted.

"For your pain. If I hadn't shown up, this would never have happened." Vlad said bitterly.

"If you hadn't shown up, I would have killed myself."

"In that case, then I'm happy that I showed up. Not one of your friends deserved to go through that pain."

I didn't say anything because I was seeing a totally different scene.

* * *

There was a man, dressed all in black. His armor was eerily similar to Vlad's, only a different color. His back was to me, but when he turned around I wished that he was facing the other way. His sword was bloody, and someone who had been kneeling before him had been beheaded on the spot.

"**I was just finishing up some business. I hope you don't mind. I just want to warn you. Do not try to return to your home. I will hunt you down and kill you personally if I hear that you do. Use your freedom wisely, because you will have it only for a few months longer." **

As soon as he was done speaking, a sharp pain exploded in my head, and I closed my eyes against the pain.

* * *

Vlad was holding me tightly when the vision ended. I struggled out of his grasp, causing another wave of pain to spasm through my body.

"Let me go, you stupid cow!" I growled.

Vlad had no choice but to let me go because he was laughing so hard. He wasn't the only one laughing. The people who had so rudely herded Vlad into the stream were standing in front of us.

"Come. We need to do something about that head of yours. And maybe we can help you, if you do something for us."

"What exactly is that?" I asked.

* * * *

The Gypsies were good people, and I hated to leave them. But we had to. But first, let me tell you what happened.

The people who had put us in their wagons were Gypsies who were going to meet up with the other Gypsies for their annual Fall Festival, where there would be all sorts of hi-jinks and dancing and general fun. They had seen me with a vampire-Vlad-and thought that I was yet another maiden drawn in by a vampire's handsome ways. They had thought to rescue me, kill a vampire, and gain a new hand in getting money all at once. Of course, they hadn't realized that I was a vampire also, and that we were in love. But they did get a hand temporarily. In all the towns we stopped at, I dressed in some old clothes and begged for money. The people passing by couldn't resist not giving me money because I was so helpless and pretty. I felt bad that I was the one who had to beg for money. I was used to working for my money. So I started doing some of my old tricks from when I was young and non-vampire. I felt better doing it like that.

So I said my farewells, thanked everyone who had taught me some new sword moves and other useful things, packed up the clothes they had given me, and left.

I had told them right away about my vision. I didn't want them being scared when that man showed up to take me away. I felt like I trusted them. When Vlad and I were walking down the long road to who-knows-where, I remembered our last night with them by the fire.

"So, how did you get changed, Svetlana?" Casmir asked.

I had given them my real name because I was tired of keeping track of who called me Willow and who called me Svetlana.

"It's kind of a long story. I would have to tell you about my whole life before that. Are you really sure that you want to hear it?"

"Of course, Svetlana. You know I like stories."

"Okay, fine. But let me finish my drink."

I quickly finished my coffee and moved closer to the fire; it was fall, and oddly cold. I thought for a moment, then began to speak slowly, turning over what happened in my mortal life in my mind. I mean, it was long ago, and I never did have a good memory for what happened. But I had told Vlad what happened, so if I made any mistakes he would be able to correct me.

"I was born on January 1st, in the year 1400. I was the last child in my family. I had four older brothers. I remember that they were more parent to me than my actual parents were. My father was always away somewhere on business, and my mother was always just sitting around the house with her friends, gossiping and not paying attention to what we children did around the house. My oldest brother, Jerome, had learned to cook from one of our nannies, so he would make our meals. He also taught the rest of us to cook. I remember that Jerome taught me to ride our horse. It's one of my earliest memories. I had been very sad because Mama wouldn't pay any attention to me. Jerome always hated seeing me sad, so he decided that he would teach me to ride. Now whenever I ride a horse I always think of him. James, the second oldest, was always playing jokes on us. I remember once he stuck a fly in an ice cube and put it in my drink. I was so frightened that I started to cry."

I chuckled at the memory.

"Jim, the third oldest, was always serious, and would never let any of the other little girls call me names. He taught me to love myself the way I was, and to always be kind in my heart, mind, and words. He always would defend me. John, the youngest of my brothers, was a combination of all my brothers. He was kind, funny, forgiving, serious, everything that I could ever want in a brother. When I was about nine, my father was kidnapped. We sent the money to the address, but the kidnappers killed my father and ran with the money. We never caught them. My mother was too lazy to get a job, so I offered to get one at a local bakery.

"My brothers vehemently refused, but my will to work was too strong and so they sent me off to the bakery to ask for a job. The bakery didn't need any more workers, and I was disappointed that I couldn't get the job I wanted. As I was walking home, I passed by a small Gypsy camp. One called out to me, and I ended up spending the rest of the day with them, learning tricks and things like that. So I put my new skills to use by standing on street corners, wearing a ridiculously colored dress and telling jokes and juggling. People loved passing by me to hear the jokes over and over again. I made a lot of money doing that."

"My brothers were all in their twenties when they started acting strangely. They were all very pale. They would hardly eat, and they were very tense around me. One day, they announced to me that they had joined the King's Army. A couple days later, when I woke up, I noticed that I hadn't been woken up by James, and my mother, who would have been shouting for me to make her breakfast, was oddly quiet.

"I walked through the house, calling for my family. But they weren't there. I started to cry when I saw that the house had been torn apart. The furniture was broken, everything ruined. I was alone in the world. I took to wandering at night, trying to get run over by a drunken man riding his horse. The only time that that was going to happen I was dragged out of the way.

"Later, when I was back on my street corner, I saw a man watching me on the very edge of the crowd. He wasn't one of the regular people who usually came by to see me. As soon as I went on my lunch break, I went up to him to ask if he needed any help with anything. He was very handsome, and well above six feet tall. I didn't feel threatened by him; rather, I felt attracted to him. He told me that it would be a pity if I got run over by a wagon at night, and I knew he was the one who had saved me.

"We had lunch together, and then he left. I didn't expect to see him after that. He came to see me every morning, and had lunch with me, and then left. We got to know each other well. I told him how my family had disappeared, and he grew very worried. He grabbed my arm and brought me to a dark alleyway where nobody would overhear us. I was shocked and worried that he might do something to me. But he explained that he was a vampire, and that he was trying to track down the vampires that had killed his family.

"He knew that the people that had taken my family were the same vampires who had killed his little sister and his mother. By that time, we knew each other well, and were in love. I don't know what was going on in his head, but he offered to turn me, so I would have a better chance of surviving if the vampires came back for me. I didn't think that he was crazy. I knew that vampires existed. I just never thought that they would do something to harm me. So I accepted his offer, and he changed me on the spot."

There was quiet after I finished the summary of my life. I wondered if I had made a mistake in telling them. Then Casmir spoke.

"Well, I give you both my blessings. I hope you have a good and safe journey." He said.

And so Vlad and I were on our way.

Only a few days after Vlad and I had left the Gypsies did I run into the man from my vision. I was eating in a tavern by myself. Vlad had gone back to the inn to get a full night's sleep. I wasn't able to sleep because it was the full moon. I was thinking about what Ian and I had done during the full moon in a sudden bout of homesickness. I had bought a cloak in a town we passed through, and I had drawn the hood up over my head, which was like blinders on a horse; it made me only see straight. I was sure that nobody would recognize me if they somehow knew me. I felt eyes boring into my back.

Cautiously, I turned around and met the stare of the man from my vision. I froze for one second, then jumped up from the table and started running right away, not bothering to pay for my wine. As soon as I was out of the tavern I headed toward the edge of town. If I went back to the inn to warn Vlad, then that would slow me down and put Vlad in possible danger. I would regret not having him with me eventually, but this night I was too worried about his safety. The first horse I saw with all its tack on I took, shouting over my shoulder that I would take good care of him.

I jumped onto the horse and kicked it into cantering. I hated hurting animals like this, but it was necessary. I went at crazy speeds around the corners, almost running over whole families crossing the street together. I only stopped when I felt that I was safe enough. I was close to the end of town, and dead exhausted. It was almost sunup and I needed a rest before I went on, a first for me for the day after the night of the full moon. I led the sweaty, shaky horse to the nearest house with a stable and knocked on the door. I knew that the person or people inside were awake because I heard them moving around. When they answered, I told them that I needed a place to stay for an hour or two.

"Of course you can stay here. You look dead beat, and your horse no better. Come, I'll show you where you can put your horse."

"You are most kind, sir. But I must warn you that I am not the best person you want in your house. I'm wanted by a man."

As I described the man who had been chasing me, the man who answered the door nodded grimly.

"It's safe for you here. He wouldn't dare ask to search my house. I am too well respected."

"Thank you, sir."

I wearily followed the man to his stable. He left briefly to fetch a pail full of cold well-water so I could wash off my horse before going to sleep. The horse fell asleep while I was wiping the sweat off of him, and I fell asleep quickly after I had dumped the pail out.

When I awoke, I was being stared at by a bunch of people. I felt uncomfortable, just laying there in the straw.

"Forgive me. I was tired, and I just fell asleep here."

"That's quite all right, Svetlana. We don't mind." The woman said.

"Wait. How do you know my name? I never told any of you my name." I was suspicious.

"Wait, please don't get suspicious. It just popped into my head. I'm sorry."

"We were just going to eat dinner. We were just going to wake you up for it. Come."

I brushed the straw out of my hair as I followed the family across the small courtyard to their house. The cooking reminded me a lot of Jerome's cooking. I wiped away a tear when I thought nobody was looking.

"What's wrong? Didn't you like the food?"

"Of course. It just reminded me of my brothers."

"What happened to them? A pretty girl like you shouldn't be out and about without an escort. Bad people are out there." The woman said.

I found myself telling them what happened to my family and about the man from my vision, and about Vlad and everything that happened in between. When I finished, there was a short silence, and then the woman started crying. One of the four men covered his mouth, trying not to laugh, one just sat as he was, one got up and hugged me tightly, and one sat looking shocked.

"Oh, Svet! We've finally found you! I'm so happy!" Exclaimed the man who got up to hug me.

"James?" I gasped. "Oh my goodness! I can't believe it! You're actually here! All of you!"

After a brief round of hugging, Jerome, James, Jim, and John started telling me what they had been doing in the years after they left. What shocked me was the announcement Jerome made.

"We're all in the King's Army."

"That's good, I guess." I was puzzled why he told me that.

"The King's Army is obviously run by the King. His son, the prince, is the one who's looking for you. We've had orders that he-the prince-issued months ago that if we saw you, we were to capture you and bring you to him alive. If you were dead, then we would die. I'm sorry."

I sat there, shocked.

"I'm so sorry, Svetlana."

Jerome reached out to stroke my cheek. I slapped it away.

"Do you realize that the man that I love may be dead right now? Do you realize I rode all night to get away from that man? Do you realize how sick I am of this world?" I shouted as I stormed out of the house.

Quickly I saddled my horse and rode away from the house. I didn't try to disguise myself like last night, though it was midday. I was determined to get back to Vlad and get him safely out of town even if it meant that I had to go with the prince. I got back to the inn more quickly than it took me to ride from the tavern to Jerome's house. I quickly dismounted and rushed to the room.

"Vlad, we have to leave now."

Vlad was standing at the window and turned when he heard the door open.

"I'm ready. Let's go." Vlad said, oddly calm. "I am not afraid of him."

"We must hurry."

As soon as Vlad was on the horse, I ordered him to go on without me.

"What? I came this far with you, and I will not stop now."

"No. I want you to go without me. And that's an order. Now go!"

I slapped the horse's flank, causing it to startle and start cantering away. Vlad had no choice but to go. He took one last look and then disappeared around the corner. I mourned his forced leaving briefly, then went back to the tavern I was at last night. I ordered a mug of warmed wine, then sat back and watched everyone that came in and out of the tavern for the next two hours. I was sure by then that the prince would have gotten word that I was still in town. He would be coming in any minute, looking for me.

Eventually, he figured it out that I was back at the tavern. By that point, it was past dinnertime-what people here call supper-and I had just paid for my food and had just decided to go back to the inn for the night. I was standing when he entered with Jerome, James, Jim, and John. We faced each other, all wary. My hand itched toward the sword I had taken to wearing since I left the Gypsies.

"Seize her." The prince ordered, and my brothers headed towards me, apology all on their faces.

I remembered what Casmir had taught me, and I faked to the right, and then to the left as my brothers tried to capture me. Drawing my sword quickly, I slashed at their heads, neatly severing them from their bodies. The headless corpses slumped to the floor; their life, however long or short, was over. The prince and I were left looking at each other, the tavern absolutely silent.

And so, silently communicating with our minds, the prince and I came to an odd agreement.

I would have one more year free to do as I wished, then the prince would send some of his men to collect me, wherever I was, and I would have to marry the prince.

One Year After the Meeting in the Tavern

"Oh my god. I am so terribly sorry. What can we do for you?"

Casmir and the other gypsies that were in the wagons with Vlad and I our first day in this new world said that they owed us something. I didn't want to hurt their feelings, so I accepted their offer and asked if they would teach me more about swords and how to use them and how to use magic. Those were the things that Casmir said I needed to know everything about to survive in the castle with the prince.

I had decided to spend my year with the people that I enjoyed being with most, as you can tell. Plus, they could teach me things that I needed to know.

When I had finished the last bit of studying a little more than a year later, I said my farewells again and headed out on the open road. I had this weird urge that I couldn't let any of my friends get hurt by the prince, like my weird feeling last year with Vlad.

I grew to be like a wild animal, hiding from humans and fighting for my life. I would run with herds of deer and horses, loving the feeling of wind running through my hair. I thought that since I changed my location almost every day, the prince would never be able to find me, and I would never have to get married.

I still remembered what I had learned from Casmir, though. For some reason, I had a photographic-type memory, and I remembered everything exactly as he said it. That was useful when I had to get away from humans who wanted to capture me and turn me over to the prince. But I rarely went near farms, so that wasn't too much of a problem.

I was sleeping amongst the deer herd that I had been living with for a couple weeks, when I had a sudden feeling of danger. Like the deer, I sprang up from my bed and started running, leaping, bounding over fallen objects. Arrows whistled past my legs, making me jump. Who would go hunting at night when you could be sleeping? The deer and I entered the forest, hoping that the people would get lost and confused.

I tried to quiet my heavy breathing, not sure if the people with the arrows were around or if they were hunting the deer. Out of the misty darkness, a whistling sound reached my ears, and an arrow narrowly missed my cheek. I didn't move; the people/person with the bow might shoot me next time. Then I felt something cold looping around my right hand and it burned.

I knew that it must be the prince and his men come to take me away to the castle. I struggled like a wildcat, but more silver chains looped themselves around my wrists. I fell to the ground, not even trying to get away. I knew I would never be able to get far away enough, even if I could get out of the chains, even if I could see in the dark.

I watched a bobbing light come closer though the mist. I jerked at the chains on my wrists in one last feeble attempt to escape, but stopped when I saw the prince. The prince looked at me on the forest floor for a moment, then ordered his men to get the stupid chains off me, though he didn't say it exactly like that. I would repeat it, but there was too much cursing involved. I just stared at him while they did so, unsure if it was some kind of trick or something.

"Thank you, sir. You are most kind." I hoped that he didn't remember our last meeting too well, the one where I killed my brothers.

"Come. We must get some sleep before we leave for home."

I followed the prince at a distance. I didn't want to get too close to him. I just had this weird feeling that if I did, he would do something bad to me. I felt the presence of the men who had herded me into the forest around me, like they were guarding me from something. I felt like a criminal being transported from one place to another.

After a few moments of walking, we entered a clearing. I could tell that maybe forty or fifty people were scattered around it. As soon as we set foot in the clearing, the men around me went back to their sleeping places, chatting easily with each other. As the prince passed, his soldiers bowed their heads respectfully. I wondered at this. The prince must either be good to his people, or the son of a king that everyone must be afraid of. At the edge of the clearing, opposite from where we entered, the prince stopped at the only tent.

"You may sleep here. We wake at dawn."

He turned away to do something. When he came back, and saw that I was still standing there, next to his tent, his expression turned to a questioning one.

"Please, sir, if I may, I'll just sleep right next to your tent here. I wouldn't feel right taking your place." I said quickly. "I won't run away or anything, sir. Please. Give me a chance, sir, just one."

"All right. I trust you. But you only get one chance, and then I'll have to tie you to a tree or something." The prince's tone was joking, but I could tell that he would actually resort to that if he needed to.

"Thank you, sir. You won't regret this, sir."

I laid down right where I was, right where he could see me. I fell asleep right away and easily got up at dawn a few hours later. Dawn was the time the animals that I had been traveling with always got up. I was used to traveling right when I got up, and that made me useless while I waited for everyone else to get up. The prince got up a half-hour after I was up, and seemed to have forgotten about me, even temporarily. He wandered around the camp lazily, talking to the people who were awake. When he was back around to his tent, and to me, he froze.

"Good morning, sir. I trust that you've had a good night's sleep?" I asked pleasantly.

"Yes, I had an excellent sleep. And you?"

"It could have been better, but such is the way of life, sir."

"I'm sorry."

"Do not be sorry about my sleep, sir." I hesitated, then asked a question. "May I ask a question, sir?"

The prince re-emerged from his tent, shirtless. I averted my eyes.

"Yes, you may. Go ahead."

"May I ask you your name, sir?"

"Of course you may. I imagine you are especially curious. My name is Mikhail Ians."

"I am pleased to meet you, sir. My name is Svetlana. But I presume you already knew that."

"Yes, I did already know that. But, every time I hear that name, I can't get over how beautiful it is."

"Is this some form of flattery, sir?"

"I believe that it is, Svetlana. And please, call me Mikhail."

"Thank you, then, Mikhail. May I ask another question?"

"Of course you may."

"When is breakfast?"

Mikhail laughed.

"Come. Let's go see if we can beg some food from the cooks."

I followed Mikhail over to where the cooks were handing out food to the people gathered around them. As we waited our turn, I grew uncomfortable with the way people were looking at me. It was like I was some kind of creature in a freak show and they hadn't ever seen me before. It made me feel like an outsider, one who would never be accepted within their circle, no matter how hard I tried or what I did. All of a sudden, I just wanted to go back to my old life, the one I had before I was brought to this world. The one I had with Ian and everyone at the fake school. I was brought out of my bout of homesickness when I smelled the food. It smelled exactly like my favorite dish that I learned to make from Casmir.

"This was my mother's favorite. She used to have it on her birthday." There was something sad in his voice.

"May I ask what happened to her, if it's not too rude?"

"She died in childbirth. She was a kind woman, and everyone misses her dearly."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Mikhail, sir."

Mikhail bit his lip and looked away. I had a sudden impulse to try to cheer him up.

"If it makes you feel better, my father's dead. He was kidnapped and the kidnappers slit his throat. And I killed my brothers, and I have no idea where my best friend is."

"Were your brothers the ones in the tavern with me last year?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, sir. I hadn't seen them for years, and I stumbled upon them when I was running from you. And then they told me that they had orders that if they saw me, they were to take me to you or they would be killed. They weren't like I remembered. And when I saw them coming toward me that night, I just got out of control, and I killed them."

"I'm sorry, Svetlana. If I had known that your brothers were in my father's army, then I would have never given those orders. I believe families should never be split up. Will you forgive me?"

"It was not your fault, sir. You did not know that my brothers were in your army. I did not even know they were here."

Both of us were quiet as we received our food besides my murmured thanks to the cooks.

"Sir, have you ever seen someone balance on one foot while balancing a carrot on top of a book on their head?"

"No, I haven't. Have you?" Mikhail asked.

"I can do it, if you want, sir."

"I don't know. We have a long ways to go."

"All right, sir. Whatever you say, sir."

"I'm Mikhail, not sir."

"Sorry, sir."

The last I saw of Mikhail before we left was his smile as he finished his food and went back to his tent.

* * * *

The bandages were annoying. I could barely move my wrists, let alone curtsy to the king and queen. Mikhail assured me that it would be acceptable for me to bow my head, but the way I was brought up demanded that I curtsy to superiors. Mikhail also told me that his family didn't know that I was a vampire, and they assumed that I didn't know that they were vampires. So I would have to play the role of a maiden who didn't know vampires exist and didn't know that I would have to marry Mikhail.

As we rode westward, I thought about Mikhail. Despite my earlier thoughts about him, he seemed to be a nice person. He treated everyone fairly and everyone seemed to love him. I thought to myself that I could grow to love him, but not as strongly as I loved Vlad, nor in the same way. Perhaps I could love him.

Everyone was determined to get to wherever we were going before nightfall, so we hardly stopped, even for necessities. I was afraid for the horses because we were going so fast and the ground was so rocky. What would happen if the horse I was riding double on (that means I was riding on the same horse with someone else) suddenly tripped over a rock or something and we fell along with it and got hurt? But as we went along, I grew surer of everything and comfortably went along our way.

When we neared the castle, it was twilight, so I guessed that everyone was happy about that. I, however, was nervous. I mean, wouldn't you be nervous too if you looked like you slept in a bush and were going to meet royalty?

The streets were too narrow for everyone to ride together like we had been, so we rode single file. I had to remind myself to take deep breaths and to be calm, like a tranquil lake. The people that lined the streets crossed themselves as I passed them, and most even came up to me and whispered prayers. I wasn't sure why, but that scared me more than the prospect of meeting the king. After two hours, we finally reached the palace gates. I took a final deep breath before my horse followed the one in front of it.

There were stable boys waiting for us in the stable yard. Two came over to us. One held the horse as the man in back of me got off, then the other one helped me off, my being a lady and all. I wanted to help with something, but it seemed like everything was already taken care of. Mikhail gestured for me to follow him.

"We must go quickly before my sisters find out that we're here."

As we entered the door nearest us, I heard an excited squeal.

"Mikhail, you're home! We're so glad!"

Mikhail was almost knocked off his feet by four young girls. I assumed that these were his sisters, and curtsied deeply. I held the curtsy mostly because I didn't feel like bending my wrists back. After more exclamations and other things that I didn't listen to out of respect, Mikhail was released from his sisters' hugs and free to introduce me.

"Svetlana, this is Jennifer, Kristin, Rose, and Kato. Jen, Kris, Rose, Kat, this is Svetlana."

"Mik wouldn't stop talking about you. Are you close friends?"

I wasn't sure what to say.

"Yes, we are very close." Mikhail said.

"We're like best friends. Like food and drink. They never fight and neither do we. I think. Do we?"

I just said the first thing that came into my head after Mikhail spoke.

"I don't remember. Stop standing like that, Svetlana. You're going to get arthritis or something like that."

"What if I want arthritis? Have you thought of that?" I shot back.

"So much for your not fighting." Jennifer said.

"You know what we are, don't you?" Kato asked suddenly.

"Pardon?"

"You know what we are."

I wasn't sure how to answer, so I looked to Mikhail. He nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. I do know."

"And you know that we intend for you to marry Mikhail."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Then we can start out with no secrets, the way we like it."

"I believe that there is one thing that you overlooked, ma'am."

"And what is that, Svetlana?" Rose asked.

"She's a vampire. Now you know. Can we please just go meet Father now?" Mikhail said quickly.

"What? She's a vampire and you never told us? That's rude, Mikhail. And we don't like rude people." Kristin said.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"Forgiven. Now, the feast is in only two hours, and we still have to get you ready. Svetlana, have you been sleeping in a tree or something?"

"No, I've been sleeping on the ground. Trees scare me."

The sisters tugged me away to a room. I didn't get a chance to look around at it because the sisters were too busy having me do things. Before I knew it, my old clothes were burning in the fireplace that was heating more water for my bath, and I was sitting in a bathtub. A servant was busy untangling my hair and another was getting out a dress from the wardrobe. I scrubbed at my skin to get all of the dirt off. Once that was done, I was told to get out of tub. Once I was out, the tub was dumped out and more water was brought in. This time I would have to wash my hair and skin with flowery smelling soaps and other things that I was not familiar with.

At only a mere hour before the feast, I was brought out of the tub again. I quickly dried off and put on the undergarments that the servant handed me. It felt oddly good to be put back in a corset. After that was done, I was told to stand with my arms out so that the servant could put my dress on. I didn't see the reason for that because I was capable of dressing myself, but I let it slide that time. Finally, with forty minutes before the feast, I was released from the room.

I had not taken more than two steps outside the room before Rose was pulling me to another room. I understood that Mikhail was the oldest child in his family, with Jennifer next oldest, then Kristin, Rose, and Kato being the youngest. The opposite of me, I thought. I let my mind wander was my hair was done up, jewelry placed at every bare patch of skin, and makeup put on my face. With ten minutes left for us to get to the great hall, we hurried to get there on time.

I was confused. Why was there a feast being held? Was it because we got back so early? Or was it for something else entirely? And why was I taking part in it? And why am I asking so many questions that I can't answer?

"You get to sit at the high table with us. You're sitting next to Mikhail."

The high table? Then everyone would be able to see me. I'm easily embarrassed, and my face turns red when I do. I hoped that I wouldn't have to make a toast or anything.

"We'll be sitting on your other side, so we'll be able to help you if anything goes wrong. Come. We have to get to our seats now. Come."

Kato took my hand and led me to a raised stage with a long table on it. On either side of my plate were so many forks and knives and spoons that I grew dizzy at the sight of them.

"Which one do we use first?" I whispered to Kato, who was the one out of the sisters that was sitting next to me.

"We use the small spoon first. Don't use the next two spoons; we don't have enough soup to use those. Use the middle fork for the main course, then the smallest fork for the salad."

"Thank you."

It seemed to me that everyone else who was supposed to be sitting at our table wanted to be fashionably late or something. I think that it had something to do with the way they were brought up or something. I wasn't making sense, even to myself, because I was starting to realize how hungry I was. After all, I had only eaten breakfast and had been riding all day.

But finally Mikhail, his father the king and some other people who I did not know finally entered. I stood out of respect for the entering king, and everyone hastily followed suit. As soon as we all sat down, servants started bringing in steaming bowls of soup.

Though I was ravenous, I ate in a dignified way, aware that people were looking up at us. They most likely were talking about the newest addition to the high table. But I quickly forgot about that because I was too busy trying to remember which utensils I was supposed to use when.

Once, when I was going to use the wrong fork for the last course (the salad) Mikhail saved my bottom by subtly taking the rest of my silverware with his left hand, leaving the fork I was supposed to use. When he looked over next, I smiled at him. He gave me the smallest of nods and turned back to his conversation with his father.

Once all the dishes had been cleared away and everyone was talking comfortably with their neighbors over goblets of wine, the king stood.

"I would like to say a few things. First of all, thank you all for coming. I deeply appreciate it."

There was a chorus of 'you're welcome's' from the room below.

"We have come today to celebrate my son's well-being and his safe return home. He set out more than a year ago on a search for someone. He had talked about finding the right person. But none of us before you had any idea what he was talking about."

I stared at my goblet, hoping to high heaven that the king would not make me stand up.

"I would like to say now that I think I know what he was talking about. He set out that day many months ago to find himself the perfect wife. And now he's back, and sitting next to the prettiest woman I've ever seen since I married the queen. Mikhail, please, introduce us."

I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have given so easily back in the forest. I felt like I was a new puppy or a new horse and had to be introduced to my new owners one at a time. Mikhail gently tugged on my shoulder and I stood up slowly. There was a round of applause. I felt heat rushing up to my face and quickly looked down before anyone could see.

"This is Svetlana. She's very shy, and doesn't like speaking to big crowds like this. But she's very nice once you get to know her." Mikhail said.

Short, but good enough, I thought. I almost sat down again, but Mikhail motioned with his hand to keep standing.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw her. She seemed to have a wild side, but she was nice to everyone who treated her the right way. She's my best friend, and I would die for her. And I would be a fool if I didn't want to. I think that anyone Svetlana met would die for her, because she doesn't judge people, even if they've done horrible things."

When I looked at Mikhail when he was speaking, I could see plainly that he meant what he said.

"Svetlana is the kind of person who defends her friends, even if it means her death. And I don't know about you people, but I think that that's pretty darn special."

Mikhail was done speaking. The king was looking a little shocked, but overall he looked pleased. Mikhail's sisters looked approving.

As we sat down again, I whispered to Mikhail, "What made you say that about me? I don't even know if I'm like that."

"I'll tell you later." He whispered back.

"Well, that was pleasant. I hope you all enjoy your stay here this winter." The king said.

"And to you." We replied.

As people left with their friends, they came up to talk a bit with me. I forgot their names as soon as they said them, but that didn't stop me from having a good conversation with them. As soon as the last people were out, we were allowed to go. It was late by this time, and I was exhausted. Kato took my hand and was leading me back towards the door we had come in when her father came over to talk. I curtsied as he stopped in front of us, blocking the door.

"Good evening, ladies." He said.

"Good evening, Father." Kato replied.

"Good evening, Your Highness."

"I trust that my daughters have been taking good care of you so far?"

"They spoil me with so much attention, Your Highness. I am not used to it."

"And Mikhail? He treated you well on your journey here?"

"He treats me better than I deserve. I do not deserve being able to call him my acquaintance."

"Acquaintance?"

"I met him briefly a few times. One in a vision, twice in a tavern, and once in a forest a couple days ago." I didn't bother with the 'Your Highness' this time because I was too tired to care. "So we haven't really gotten to know each other. Well, Mikhail may know things about me, but I know nothing about him except his name, that he has four sisters, a father, and no mother, and that he's the oldest child in his family. This is the complete opposite of me."

"How so?"

"Father, Svetlana is tired. She's been riding all day, and I'm sure that all this has tired her even more. May we continue this conversation another time?" Kato asked sharply.

The king sighed, but nodded and let us pass. As I followed Kato away from the hall, I started to get sleepier. By the time she opened the door to where I would be staying, I had fallen asleep leaning against a stone wall. When I awoke, I was laying on top of the covers of a large four-poster bed. My arms were crossed. I was slightly confused. But before I had time to start asking myself questions, a servant came bustling in with a pile of clothes in her arms.

"Good. You're awake. His High Prince Mikhail told me that if you weren't awake already I should wake you up. He told me that as soon as I got you dressed I bring you down to his chambers." She said.

I took it that I couldn't refuse his invitation and so climbed out of bed and let the servant do her job. As I followed her down a series of hallways, other people walking along stopped to bow or curtsy. I looked behind myself to see if one of the princesses was behind me, but realized that they were bowing and curtsying to me. I bowed my head each time that happened until the servant opened a door and gestured for me to enter. I thanked her quietly and quickly and entered the room.

As I entered the room, everyone stood. That made me feel weird, because I wasn't used to being treated like that. As I sat in the only open chair-which was next to Mikhail-everyone sat down again.

"Svetlana, I don't know if you've met my father. Father, this is Svetlana."

"Call me Cashore, please."

"Actually, we did meet last night. But I appreciate meeting you again, sir."

"Please, call me Cashore, Svetlana. It's better than being called 'sir'."

"Thank you, Cashore. And you can call me Svet. I would appreciate it."

There was a slight lapse in our conversation, then Cashore asked me a question.

"What is your family like?"

"My family? I don't think that you would want to hear about my family."

"Of course we do. Please?"

"I don't know what to say."

Mikhail shifted in his chair. I could tell that he was impatient, though I had no idea why. I looked at him.

"What's wrong, Mikhail?" I asked, avoiding Cashore's request.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just remembering our first encounter, at the tavern."

"Oh."

I was mournful for a moment until Cashore broke in.

"What happened then?"

"Father, why are you asking her so many questions? I don't think Svetlana appreciates it." Jennifer said.

"I am just curious, that's all, Jennifer."

"If you must know, Cashore, that was the night that I killed my brothers. I was so mad at them because they had turned me over to Mikhail. I lost control and beheaded them. And now I am regretting agreeing to come here. It seems like you expect me to tell you everything that's happened in my life. You make me feel like I'm a criminal or something. Or maybe it's because I was with the Gypsies, like your wife was. And you're afraid that Mikhail will lose me like the way you lost her. And you take it out by asking me questions."

Mikhail stared at me, as did everyone else in the room, except for Cashore. He was looking at me with a calm, sad look in his eyes.

"What you just said about my wife was true. And I am afraid that my son will lose you the way I lost Amy. So I want to know as much as I can about you so that if that does happen while I'm still alive, I'll remember you the way I remember Amy. And I hope that everyone else would remember you."

I hadn't expected that. It was weird, but it seemed like this family loved anybody and everybody even if they didn't know them well. I remember that I thought that Vlad was like that when he told me that he was the one who had pulled me out of the wagon that was going to run me over. But now I think that he had just done that because he liked me.

"I appreciate that, more than you might possibly know. I'm sorry for being mean and cranky. I hope all of you will forgive me for talking about your mother like that."

If I had learned anything from Casmir, it was that people here respect the dead. And I had just barely crossed that line by bringing her up.

"I forgive you. I hope that I didn't come off as someone who likes to make people stay up against their will by asking them questions."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm used to odd stuff happening to me."

My stomach chose that moment to rumble.

"Sorry about that. I just woke up and came right over here." I apologized.

"It's quite all right. Actually, Mikhail hasn't eaten, either. Why don't the two of you go down and eat breakfast? Then we can resume getting to know each other." Rose suggested.

"All right. I think that we will. Come on, Svetlana, before you start eating people."

I followed Mikhail. I recognized most of the people we passed in the hallways. I curtsied briefly each time they bowed or curtsied. As we waited in the line for food, it reminded me of the camp in the forest, where I had met Mikhail for the second time in person. That made me think of the food we ate at breakfast, the Gypsy recipe, which led me to think about Casmir and everyone else that I met.

"What are you thinking about?" Mikhail asked suddenly.

I must've jumped because he apologized for scaring me.

"I was just thinking about my time with the Gypsies. I mean, it's not something that I would forget easily."

"That's understandable. I still can't get over that I was with them for a time also."

"You were with them? I didn't know that."

"My father doesn't know either. He thought that I was away on business. Sometimes I still go to visit them and see how my old friends are doing."

"Do you know a man named Casmir?"

"Casmir? I thought he was too moody. He was always by himself."

"He was like that when I was with them. But he took a liking to me, and everyone said that it was odd."

"Well, everyone there is odd."

"True that, Mikhail. True that."

We finished in the banquet hall and went back to the study where I answered questions until lunchtime. I went back to my room to rest. Somehow, those questions had made me more tired than the sword lessons. When I emerged, I was informed that it had snowed furiously while I was asleep, and that there was at least a foot of snow on the ground.

"Snow? I love snow!"

I ran out the nearest door into an open-roofed courtyard. I spun around slowly, looking up at the sky, trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue. I cried out when something cold hit the back of my neck.

"Mikhail! That's not funny." I heard Kato call out.

"You're right, Kato. It wasn't funny. That's why I have to take revenge." I spun around and hit Mikhail square in the chest with a snowball.

What ensued after that I can only call a snowball fight. After the first few snowballs were thrown, others started joining in. Servants and nobles alike, all were having fun. Then, as suddenly as they joined us, they all disappeared, leaving Mikhail and I alone.

"I guess that you win, Mikhail. I bow down to your superior snowball-making skills."

"Ah, I beg to differ. You were the superior one. You didn't show anyone mercy, especially me."

"I thought that I could not favorite anyone."

As we talked, I grew colder, though I did not want to go inside and end this moment with Mikhail. I did not realize that Mikhail had given me his coat until it was already draped over my shoulders.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I would rather you have your coat back. I wouldn't want you to get sick because of me."

"You do realize that both of us are covered with snow and are just going to get sick anyways?"

"I know, but still. What if someone sees me wearing your coat? What would they think?"

"It doesn't matter what they think."

Before I could say anything else, Mikhail took my face in his hands and kissed me full on the lips. I felt funny inside, like my insides were being melted.

The moment was ruined by a large amount of people going "Awwww" all at the same time. My face burning, I looked down.

"Don't be embarrassed. It could be worse. I could kiss you again like this." Mikhail said as he took my face in his hands again and kissed me.

I ignored the people watching and tentatively kissed him back. When we broke apart again, I was not embarrassed that people were watching. I mean, if people wanted to see us kiss, than that was their deal.

"Come, enough of this standing outside all wet from the snow. You both are going to catch your death." Jennifer ordered.

"Yes, Mother." Mikhail and I both said.

As I went back to my room to change into dry clothes, I realized that I still had Mikhail's coat. When I went looking for him, Kato said that I had to see a healer because of my wrists. Dimly I remembered what happened only two or three days ago. When the healer undid the bandages on my wrists, all that was left to show that I had been injured were two scars that were raised.

"You're lucky that the cold didn't settle in them right away. We might have had to cut off your hands because of the frostbite." He said.

"I seem to have an odd kind of luck, then."

"Don't worry about you wrists anymore, but take it easy, tell someone if you feel sick, and get a good night's sleep."

I thought that that was odd advice, but I didn't want to offend him, so I thanked the healer and left. I couldn't find Mikhail anywhere, so I asked a servant to put his coat in his room for me. I wasn't hungry by the time dinner rolled around so I went back to my room and lay down on my bed. A while later, I had a bad feeling, and used my magic skills to find out what had happened at dinner.

Cashore had told everyone the reason why he and his son picked me to marry Mikhail.

"Mikhail had a vision of a young woman. In it, she was loved dearly by the Gypsies. You all know that our family has fallen out of favor with the Gypsies because they blame us for Amy's death, and so do her people, the Amarin. We believe that since the Amarin love the Gypsies, and the Gypsies love Svetlana, Svetlana will be able to persuade the Gypsies to persuade the Amarin to forgive us."

I stopped the replay of events that had happened, feeling sick. They were just using me to get to Amy's people. From what I had learned from Casmir, the Amarin people trade silk and other valuable things that they have a major surplus in for things that were overly common here but that the Amarin don't have. I felt so used and so sad at the same time that I couldn't believe it.

When I heard knocking on my door, I didn't answer, sure that it would be one of the princesses or Mikhail. I turned my back to the door.

"Svetlana? I noticed you weren't at dinner. I brought you some food." Mikhail said.

"I'm sick. Go away."

"You seem fine to me, if a little cranky."

I heard him put something on the small nightstand next to my bed.

"Is there something wrong?"

"You and your family."

I heard him sit down in a chair.

"I would appreciate it if you told me why you didn't tell me that I had to persuade the Amarin to forgive you. I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I be the one to make peace between you?" I said.

"Did someone tell you about it?"

"I used magic to figure it out. But I was suspicious anyways. I mean, why would a prince want to marry me for no reason?"

"I thought that you would be happy that you were getting married."

"I would be happy that I was getting married. But I want to get married to someone that I actually know and who won't use me for their own purposes."

"You were engaged?" Mikhail's voice had something in it that I couldn't trace.

"I wouldn't call it that. But we were in love. We had been ever since we first met. He had saved me from getting run over by a wagon. I guess it doesn't matter now because I don't know where he is. Besides, he's probably married now."

"I'm sorry." He said simply.

"Don't be. I did get some good things out of this."

"Like what?"

"Well, I got to meet you, for one thing."

The conversation had taken a different turn, one that I hadn't expected.

"How is that a good thing?"

"Well, if I hadn't than I wouldn't be treated like this."

I rolled onto my back, folding my hands behind my head, and looked at Mikhail, the portrait of seriousness.

"So you're still here only because you like the way you're treated?"

"Of course. What woman wouldn't? I mean, come on. I have servants waiting on me, a courtyard right next to my room, and a prince who will have snowball fights with me."

"Of course. What woman wouldn't love to get their hair messy and covered on snow?" Mikhail said teasingly.

"Are you teasing me? I could have your father disown you for insulting me." I said back.

"But you wouldn't dare do that."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because if you did, I would never speak to you again and I would never kiss you again."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." I said.

Mikhail laughed.

"You really enjoy me kissing you that much?"

"The kissing I could care less about. I would miss talking to you and hearing your voice. It's weird, in my mind, at least, because I hardly know you."

"It's the same with me, like I would die without talking to you."

I noticed something about him then.

"You aren't wearing a shirt." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"So? Does that bother you?"

"It may be a surprise to you, but yes, it does. Will you please put a shirt on?"

"Thanks for asking, but no, I won't. Why does it bother you?"

"For one thing, I don't have to tell you why it bothers me. Second of all, I don't think people here would appreciate it if I went running around half-naked. And don't even say that the men would, because I think that they respect you too much to so much as look at me when we're having a conversation."

"That's true. But you still haven't answered my question."

"Well, suppose you're me, and men where I come from only take off their shirts when they're changing or when they're going swimming."

"What if they're a blacksmith and they're too warm?"

"We don't have blacksmiths or anything like that. Now will you put a shirt on please?"

"No, I don't believe that I will."

I knew that it would be pointless to try to argue more about it, so I let it go. Instead, I struck on another subject that didn't really make sense to me.

"You remember the snowball fight we had today?"

"No, I don't. I have short-term memory loss." Mikhail was kidding.

"Remember, at the end, when we were talking?"

"And I kissed you? Yes, I remember. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering why you kissed me."

I sat up and wrapped my arms around my legs.

"I'm not quite sure, myself. I just was thinking about how pretty you were, breathless and pink-cheeked with snow in your hair. I thought that I really wanted to marry you, in that moment, out of some desire."

I could tell that this was deeply personal. I could tell from his eyes that he wouldn't dare to tell any other woman this. Odd, I thought, because I thought that any woman here would love to hear that. I blushed and looked down at my feet.

"Don't be embarrassed, please, it was only meant to be a compliment." Mikhail pleaded.

"I'm not embarrassed, not at all. You're just the first person who said that I was pretty with snow in my hair. I'm actually rather pleased. Did you get your coat back all right?"

"Yes, thank you. I like to smell it now. It smells like you."

I caught a flash of an edge of a dress moving outside the open doorway. I recognized the pattern of Kato's dress.

"Kato, do you want to join in our conversation, or would you rather to continue to eavesdrop?" I asked.

Kato came in, her head hung low.

"Kato, I'm disappointed in you. What happened to manners?"

"They ceased to exist when you kissed her where everyone could see," She hissed. "What would Father have said if he saw you two doing that? What would he say if he saw you, shirtless, talking in her room right now?"

"I would tell him that I had just come from my training outside to bring Svetlana some dinner. Is that suitable enough for you?"

"What is your problem, Kato? Why are you acting like this? I don't mean it in a bad way, but are you mad at me because I spend time with your brother?"

Kato ran from the room. When I moved to go after her, Mikhail stopped me with an outstretched arm.

"I'll go talk to her. You stay here and eat your food. I'll be back."

Mikhail left the room after his sister. I ate, then brought the empty plates down to the kitchen. When I was returning to my room, I saw that it had grown dark outside, which surprised me because I hadn't known how much time had passed when I was in my room alone. I judged it to be about 9:30, which was later than I thought. When I was back at my room, I found that my bath had been drawn. Locking the door in case Mikhail came back without knocking, I rubbed my tense muscles until I was relaxed, and I was grateful for the hot water.

While I was sitting in a chair drawn up by the dying fire, I realized that Mikhail couldn't have been outside doing his training because it had snowed, unless they had done it in the stable, which was highly unlikely. I had just extinguished the lamps in my room and was in bed, watching the glowing coals, when I saw Kato standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry for running like that. I was mad because Mikhail talks mostly about you when we talk together, and I was jealous. I hope that you can forgive me."

"Of course I can. I can never be mad at my friends." I hugged her one-armed.

As she left, Mikhail stepped inside.

"Thank you for talking to her." I said.

"I would have anyways. She's been acting like that ever since Mother died. I'm not sure why."

"I think that it's nice, though, that you can actually talk to your sisters and they listen to you. I wished that my brothers were like that."

"I'm still sorry about your brothers."

"And I still keep forgiving you. You don't have to keep saying that you're sorry about my brothers. Like I said to Kato, I can never be mad at my friends."

"You really are one-of-a-kind, you know that? I've never met anyone else who can't be mad at their friends."

"And I've never met someone who can go shirtless in the snow for hours at a time."

"Okay, I admit it that I was lying. But I actually was training, though."

"Okay, okay. I'm going to stop this now. I can see that this is pointless." I said.

"All right. I'll forget it, too."

"Thanks for the snowball fight today. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time."

"It was fun, yes. We should do it again sometime."

"Good night, Mikhail."

"Good night, Svetlana."

He came over to me and kissed my forehead, then quietly left. I couldn't get to sleep for a while after that, though I was exhausted. When I finally did, I had disturbing dreams of me being shot to death with arrows by people that I assumed were the Amarin. I had a feeling, though, when I woke up, that this would eventually happen, no matter what I did, like my vision of Mikhail. Still, it was very frightening.

"What happened? Are you all right?"

I startled; I hadn't heard Mikhail come in. I wasn't even expecting him to be in my room.

"Why are you in my room? I think that's the most important thing here." I gasped, burrowing down in the sheets.

"I heard screaming, so I came over to make sure you were all right." Mikhail was calm.

"Well. How could you hear me you hear me screaming from all the way across the castle?"

"Haven't you ever wondered whose rooms were next to yours?"

"What does that have to do with it?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.

"These walls can stop most sounds, screams even, but yours was different. I heard it as clearly as if you were right next to me."

"I was having this dream where five Amarin were shooting at me with longbows at tall as me. I feel that they were your mother's family."

Mikhail went so silent that I wasn't sure if he had left. Then I heard a sigh.

"Move over."

"What? You're not sleeping with me."

"I'm only trying something, all right? When my sisters were younger, when they had nightmares, I would sit next to them or sleep next to them and it would calm them down. I think that it will work with you, too."

"Fine, but nothing inappropriate."

I moved over and turned my back when I felt Mikhail lift the sheets to climb on. I felt suddenly nervous now that he was climbing into my bed next to me, despite our agreement for no inappropriate things.

"Mikhail?" My voice was small, like a child's, in the dark.

"Yes?" His baritone voice was comforting to me.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were still here."

I quickly fell asleep again, feeling comforted that someone was nearby.

When I awoke the following morning, it was to see that I was in Mikhail's arms.

"Don't move or say anything. Pretend to be sleeping still." If I wasn't so close to him, I would've sworn that Mikhail was just breathing in his sleep.

I was unsure about why he told me that, but I heeded his words and started breathing deeply, as if still sleeping. I heard whispering coming from the direction of the doorway. I couldn't make out what was being said, but I could tell that something wasn't all right. I heard the sound of pens and charcoals moving over parchment. There was the sound of angry footsteps coming toward my room, and the whispering voices, along with the sound of writing utensils moving along paper, dashed away.

"You smell nice," I whispered before Cashore reached my room.

"What is the meaning of this?" Cashore said it loud enough so that it would wake us up but quiet enough so that it wasn't shouting.

Even though I was already awake, it still startled me into jerking out of Mikhail's grip and grabbing the bedclothes to wrap around myself. After all, this was Mikhail's father, and I felt more awkward wearing pajamas around him than I did with Mikhail.

"She was having a nightmare, and I came to help her."

"You didn't have to sleep with her."

"Remember when Kato used to have nightmares? Remember that when I sat with her in her room she would be calm and not have more bad dreams? Remember that as I rushed to make sure Jennifer was all right because I heard her screaming, you complained of the awful noise that was ruining your sleep? I did that because you didn't, and I did this because nobody else would make sure she was all right when she was screaming."

I had never heard or seen Mikhail so angry. Granted, I was only there for three days.

"You will not lie to me, nor will you talk to me like that. I am your father, and you will treat me with the respect I deserve."

"Mikhail is not lying, Cashore. I was having a bad dream and Mikhail was the only one who came in to check on me. I appreciate him coming in and doing that, and I will not appreciate anyone, not even his father the King yelling at him because he cared about me."

At once I knew I shouldn't have said that. I hadn't thought out how Cashore would react. But I was proud that I had stood up for Mikhail, even if he wished I hadn't. I sensed before Cashore said it that he wanted me out of his castle.

"Please, sir, let me get dressed before I leave. I would like to have a little bit of dignity left."

"Leave her, Mikhail. We do not associate with her kind."

I didn't look at Mikhail as he left. I knew that I would only see hurt on his face, and silent pleading to apologize to his father. But I would not apologize. I had said what I wanted to say, and I would not apologize for that. When I had dressed in the gown with the least amount of jewels on it, I quietly left out a side door near the stables. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to be able to eat, but I figured that I could sell the jewels for money. As I passed through the main gates from the castle into the town surrounding it, I heard a man calling out to me. It was Martick, the man who I had ridden with when I first came to the castle.

"Here. I want you to have my horse. Before you protest, which I'm sure you will, I want to tell you that I'm giving Poppy to you as a gift."

Tears gathered in my eyes as I accepted Poppy's reigns.

"Thank you, Martick. I won't ever forget this. And tell everyone that I'm sorry."

He knew that I meant the other men who were in the camp with Mikhail when he was bringing me to the castle. I wasn't surprised that Martick had heard that I was leaving; Martick was put on morning watch near my room.

"Be safe, Svetlana."

I turned back to the road ahead of me and lead Poppy away from her owner. By the time I looked back one last time at the castle all I could see was the gate, some towers sticking up behind it, and a lone figure walking toward me. I jumped onto Poppy and urged her into a fast trot. I didn't want to talk to anyone from the castle, especially Mikhail. He didn't seem to know when to give up.

I ignored his calls to me and kept on moving towards the place where the town stopped and where the farms began. I missed Vlad more than ever now because he would be able to stop Mikhail from following me. I mean, it's not like that I couldn't tell him to stop; he just wouldn't listen to me. Vlad could intimidate anyone into doing what he told them to. Vlad could intimidate anyone but me, and that's why he took an interest in me. I took an interest in him for different reasons, one of them being why he rescued mw from the wagon.

I rode as long as I could before having to get off because of my fear of ruining the dress and the jewels attached. The nearest inn gladly provided a space for my horse as I rested briefly and ate lunch. Seeing as I had no money, I left a small pearl with the innkeeper and his wife, sure that it would be at least enough for my horse's spot in the stable and my small lunch of bread and cheese. I left it to them whether to sell it or keep it as it was.

I got really frustrated when I saw Mikhail waiting for me at the gate, casually leaning against it as if he belonged there. I didn't pay him too much attention after that. Well, I tried, but it was hard because of all the attention that he was drawing to us. People were calling out to him, greeting him, and bowing to him as we passed. I gritted my teeth as my progress was steadily slowed. I finally just started looking for an inn to stay at for the night even though it was barely dark out. I stayed with Poppy while Mikhail went inside to get rooms and a place for Poppy.

He came out looking apologetic.

"They only have one room left." He said.

"That's not a problem. I'll sleep with Poppy."

"In the stable?"

"Where else would Poppy be? Besides, I don't feel comfortable at the thought of sharing a room with you."

"Because of what happened this morning? Svetlana, that was nothing. My father just overreacted. He just doesn't like surprises or anything that threatens his image."

"And how did that threaten to ruin his image? He didn't want rumors that I was sleeping with his son? Well, he got that. But I'm sure there are other rumors going around now."

"Svetlana, don't think that way."

"This is not a conversation that I want to be having in front of others."

Indeed, people were staring at us as they passed, and some had even stopped and were listening to our conversation. I took Poppy to the stable, where a young boy showed me where I could put her. In return for his kindness, I gave him a ruby.

"Thank you, miss." He ran off, shouting to his friends about the lady who gives away jewels from her dress.

I went inside to ask the innkeeper where I could find someone who would buy jewels from me.

"You can try Forst's. He's just down the road a ways. His sign has a blue tree on a white and red checkered background."

I found Forst's easily due to the innkeeper's directions. As I showed him the rest of the jewels on the dress, and he determined the worth of all of them, I looked out the window at the people passing by. I jerked back slightly when I saw a familiar face across the street. I hadn't expected to see him here; I hadn't expected to see him at all actually.

"Lady? I'm done."

"Sorry, I was daydreaming. What was that you said?"

"I'm done. They're worth about thirteen thousand dollars. These are some fine jewels you have." Forst said.

I could tell he really wanted them. Besides, I needed the money.

"Okay then. Do we have a deal?"

"It's worth it, lady."

"Thank you, Forst. I'll be sure to direct my friends here the next time they're here."

When I exited the shop, pocketing my money, Vlad was waiting for me.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here." He said.

"I won't be here for much longer. I got kicked out. But I guess it's a good thing."

"How'd you get kicked out?"

"I'd rather not say. At least, not here. Follow me."

I knocked on the door of the room Mikhail was staying in, saying that it was Svetlana.

"Come in."

"My friend would like to know how I got kicked out of your father's grace."

As the introductions were made, I started to slowly back out of the room. I didn't want to revisit the scene again, feeling a tad uncomfortable because of my past with Vlad. I felt that if I was there when Mikhail told him, Vlad would storm out of my life forever. Even if I hadn't seen him in more than a year, I still wanted to know that he was my friend. I got halfway down the stairs before Mikhail came after me.

"Come on. We went through it together, you should at least be in the same room when I tell it."

"No. You can tell it to him alone. Remember when I told you that I didn't want to marry you because I didn't want to be with people who would use me for their own purposes? And you thought that I was engaged? That is the man that I would have married eventually, and I'm afraid that when we tell him he'll just disappear out of my life forever, though we haven't seen each other in a year, ever since I saw you in the tavern."

I don't know why I was so angry, but I was, and I showed it through my words. I couldn't tell you why Mikhail made me feel like this. Like being so mad at him, but loving him at the same time, and he made me feel so sad for some reason. And he made me feel ridiculous because I loved him like this and we just met.

I went to the stables and buried my face in Poppy's mane. I let the horse and its gentle presence calm me down. Animals always were able to calm me down, no matter what I was feeling or what I was doing. I guess I inherited it from my brothers. At the thought of my brothers, I started crying, just out of habit. Poppy, with her head over my shoulder, moved her head against my back as if she were a human and was patting me on the back to soothe me.

I had to laugh at this. I mean, Poppy had just comforted me in such a way that it made me feel like a child again. Animals always were able to calm me down, one way or another, like I said before. I lingered in her stall a little longer, then went to get a brush and brushed down her coat. If I learned anything useful, it was that Poppy loved having her coat brushed and that she also loved having company. I eventually calmed down enough to slide down the stall door and fall asleep in the hay.

I awoke to the sound of arguing voices. Judging from the darkness outside the open stable door, it was either very early in the morning or very late at night. Vlad and Mikhail were arguing about whether to wake me up or not. Since my mind was still foggy from sleep, I was confused. I would've been confused anyways. I think that they wanted to leave because of some reason or another.

"Why are you talking so loud? Don't you know that Poppy and the rats are trying to sleep?" I said grumpily.

"Shush. We're arguing about whether or not to wake you up."

"Okay. While you have fun doing that, I'm going to back to sleep."

Normally, neither Mikhail nor Vlad would appreciate my remarks that were along the lines of that. But I guessed that they were too tired to care. I stretched, brushed the straw out of my hair, and climbed over the top of the half-door. I don't know why exactly I did that, but it seemed a little more dramatic than just walking through the door.

Someone had already put Poppy's saddle and bridle on her, along with a couple saddlebags and some bundles. Two other horses were decked out in a similar way. I didn't want to interrupt the discussion going on between Mikhail and Vlad, so I just got on and followed them out the open door and into the dark.

Following that day when we left the inn in King's City, weeks went by where I was following Mikhail and Vlad, who were talking with each other about things that I did not know about. Eventually, we came to the eastern border of our kingdom, the one that meets the western border of Amarin. The people from my dream were there, complete with longbows. I looked them square in the eyes as we got closer. Mikhail shied away from them, but I pushed past him, not willing to let them intimidate me. If they had a problem with me, and wanted to shoot me before I got to their land, then that was fine with me. It might even cause the two kingdoms to start talking to each other again, though I had no idea what that had to do with them. I had a sudden urge to gallop right to them, to see if they would do as my dream said they would.

Then I suddenly recalled that the Amarin have this complicated religion, and that they sacrifice young maidens crossing over toward their land. I also recalled that they-Mikhail and his family-also believed the religion, because of their mother, but lately they hadn't done the sacrifice. I knew in that instant that Mikhail had somehow contacted them, and said that he had someone they could sacrifice. I bet that that was why they wouldn't trade with us, because the royal family refused to sacrifice once a year. And now they were going to do the sacrifice to restore the peace.

The Amarin didn't blame us for Amy's death, and if they did, they didn't now. They just wanted them to respect their religion.

Somehow the thought of being sacrificed for a greater cause made me feel more alive, and I charged straight at the royal family of five with their longbows drawn, loaded, and ready. The adrenaline somehow made time slow down. I could see the glint of the sun on arrows as they were slowly raised and aimed. They shot, all in perfect alignment with one another, straight as arrows towards my heart.

I don't remember the sensation of the arrows piercing my skin. I just remembered that I fell of Poppy, practically at the feet of the family of five. I felt light-headed, and then very tired. I wanted to go to sleep, but it was the oddest thing because I knew that I shouldn't go to sleep. But I wanted, needed to go to sleep. The last thing that I saw before my eyes fluttered closed was Poppy's upside-down head looking at me.

* * * *

I wasn't sure whether I was dreaming or not. I was back at the school, with Ian and Annie and Josh and everyone else. I walked around at first to look for everyone, and ended up in the cafeteria. All the dorms were squished into this one cafeteria. Everyone seemed happy enough until a clock started chiming for eleven 0'clock. Everyone went silent, as if they were counting the chimes. Someone stood up and made an announcement. I figured out when he started speaking that it was Ian. He seemed so old, though I had only been gone about four years.

"Today's the anniversary of the day that, exactly four years ago at eleven in the morning, we found that Svetlana was not in her room. We will be having a memorial-type thing right after this, so anyone who wants to come, you can."

I slunk out the door, unnoticed. This surely was a dream; I had no doubt about it. Maybe what tipped me off was the big purple cat with a fairy wand that came and bopped me on the head. After that, I felt nothing, only the sensation of dirt clods, small rocks, and other small pokey things digging into my back, like I had fallen off my horse and was lying on the ground. All I saw was white, and I knew that it was time for me to die. I gasped as a sharp icy something pierced my chest. I gasped, arching my back-and simply stopped existing.


End file.
